History Main / TertiarySexualCharacteristics

** It's true when we talk about stylistically ''neutral'' signs. More stylistic signs are more versatile, but it usually ''is'' either clothes (skirt vs. trousers, suit vs. dress), footwear (flat heel vs. high heel) or headwear (top hat vs. lady's hat).

** ''KaizokuSentaiGoukairanger'' puts an interesting spin on this. The Goukaiger can [[MegaManning copy the powers of past Ranger teams]], so when Goukai Blue (male) copies a female Blue Ranger's powers, he gains a skirt. Conversely, when Goukai Yellow (female) copies a male Yellow Ranger's powers, she loses the skirt.

* On [=MST3K=], the robot Gypsy has a high-pitched voice and over-sized lips

** The PR-T's are also all pink... save for a single [[TokenMinority blue]] one visable in the background in one shot.

* Very subtly done in ''HappyFeet''. The female Emperor penguins have purple undersides under their beaks and males have orange.

** And whoever the heck the new Beta Couple in ''Bubble Bobble Plus (WiiWare)'' are.

[[caption-width-right:350:Bows? Check. Lipstick? Check. Eyelashes? Check. Makeup? Check. [[PinkGirlBlueBoy Lots of pink]]? Check. [[NonMammalMammaries Breasts]]? Check. Jewelry? Check. Skirts? Check. High Heels? Check. No mistake, [[BlatantLies they're]] [[WholesomeCrossdresser girls]]!]]

Note that many, many animals already have distinct gender-specific characteristics, though these are almost guaranteed to be totally ignored in designing fictional animal characters. Either the writers DidNotDoTheResearch or assumed the [[ViewersAreMorons viewers wouldn't know what they are]].

** Aside from hairstyle/clothes, it is hard to tell clothed boys from girls before puberty outside socialization or self-identification.

* In kids' show ''Dive Olly Dive'', the female submarine has curly eyelashes and a ''heart-shaped headlight''.

'''Kevin:''' "Yeah, if it was a girl, it'd have a big bow on the side of its head or something."\\
-- ''Ben10AlienForce''

* On one of ''TheSimpsons'' Halloween episodes, the aliens Kang and Kodos are revealed to be siblings -- and male and female respectively. Both have identical appearances and equally deep voices.

** To be blunt, aside from hairstyle/clothes, it is hard to tell clothed boys from girls before puberty outside socialization or self-identification.

** Attempts at doing something different (such as one Scottish sign showing men in kilts and women with [[MostCommonSuperpower extremely large breasts]]) can be hilarious. Visible [[http://www.utilikilts.com/store/pinfo.php?cPath=16&products_id=28 here]].

Note that many, many animals already have distinct gender-specific characteristics, though these are almost guaranteed to be totally ignored in designing fictional animal characters. Either the writers DidNotDoTheResearch or assumed the [[ViewersAreMorons viewers wouldn't know what they are]]. (Given some of the [[NonMammalMammaries discussions elsewhere]], we're going with the first option.)

* ''{{Wall-E}}'' has the chunky and functional (male) Wall-E next to the sleek (female) Eve. The other Axiom robots who were (presumably) male were more angled and squareish, reminiscent of Wall-E's cube shape.
** Except for the hairstyling and makeup bot, which spoke in a female voice, subverting the trope. Part of the reason for TertiarySexualCharacteristics is that closed captioning doesn't confer gender identification.
*** And by this you mean they made up an excuse to justify it, when there was other options, like having the voice noted in the closed captions themselves, or the simple fact that it doesn't really matter.

* [[BigOldEyebrows larger eyebrows]]

** Also played with in one mission, where there is a rule against harming characters of the opposite gender. The fight features Night Dancer, an apparently female bangaa with long eyelashes, lipstick, and a feminine way of speaking. This is not breaking precedent; unique characters are allowed to have a different gender than the species standard (such as Adelle and Frimelda, the only female humans in the whole game). However, if you attack Night Dancer with a female, you're suddenly informed that you broke the law - which means "she" is a cross-dresser! Penelo is also human- she is restricted by laws that restrict humans- even though she has access to the classes and equipment of the Viera, an effectively [OneGenderedRace], as was Ritz in the previous game- though Ritz may have been entirely Viera as the mechanics were concerned.
** In ''FinalFantasyTactics'' set the precedent of Ribbons as female-only equipment but made a very special exception for guest star and (forced) cross-dresser Cloud Strife.

* When this trope is averted, there's a possibility of the ShesAManInJapan trope happening.

** This Troper was always of the opinion that, owing to the gender obscurity of real hyenas, she would have been a wonderful character for other characters to irritate by mistaking her for a man.

* In one of the [[LoisMcMasterBujold Miles Vorkorsigan]] novels, Trooper Taura wears a pretty bow to make herself less fearsome to the kids they're rescuing. While she is [[CuteMonsterGirl visibly female]], Taura is also... a large woman. And powerfully built. And she has fangs. And claws. Let's not forget the claws - in her introduction, she scratches through a metal water pipe... and no, the nail polish she favors later does not hide them.